Samsung has filed a patent for a handheld device that trumps both the Palm Pre's too-tiny keyboard and the screen-hogging soft keyboard of Apple's iPhone.
The Korean company's solution is a two-piece keyboard that folds out from either side of the device.
The application, entitled Mobile Terminal Having Rear Keypad, envisions …

COMMENTS

Zaphod Beeblebrox....

Looks crude

I have to say the best mobile keyboard I ever used was the Psion 5. The fold out clamshell design allowed for near full-size keys in a compact case. I would be tempted if someone brought out a phone or maybe compact netbook with that design today.

great idea! I have a suggestion.

I hate those tiny and clumsy keyboards as well as the slowness of the virtual keyboard and its equally small size. Anyone over 40 will begin to appreciate the larger keyboard.

My concern:

If you use this on your lap and the smartphone is between your legs, it will fall to a bad angle as well as skew the keyboard seating.

My suggestion:

Why don't you add extending rods at the top of the phone or some other kind of "top of phone" extension to keep the phone flat and parallel to the keyboard. I would love to buy one if it had that kind of feature.

Alternatives

Having to put it down on a flat surface is a major drawback. If the 'wings' swing upward, the keys could be thumb-operated. Less efficient than full-fingered input, but better than tiny on-screen keys. For touch-typists, you could put the keys on the back of the device - easy to use, easy to hold, thumbs can manipulate the screen.

Didn't

Samsung usability of handheld gadgets

I have a Samsung tv and dvd player/HD recorder.

Quite nice hardware in itself, for the price, but both have dismally designed remote controls. The button which turns on teletext is miles away from the button which turns it off, for example, which is a pain. (Yes, some of us still use teletext) The 'play' button on the DVD remote sometimes does the right thing, other times you have to use the centre of the 5-way button constellation, all depending on context.

There are other horrors, too. Frankly, I have very low expectations about Samsung's usability drive, but live in hope. At least people will see this gadget before they buy it, unlike remote controls, which rarely become part of the sales talk at (e.g.) Dixons.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Missing the point

Contributors so far have missed the point.

The 'wings' are to facilitate inter-office memos. You enter the co-ordinates on the large screen then launch the device into the air. The wings deploy and cruise between colleagues/offices delivering the missives before you can say 'Bob's yer Uncle".

Fragile

Prior art

The "wings"-type folding keyboard has been done before, on at least one of Nokia's phones (the E70 (2006), and I think there was at least one other). Not that it's a bad idea - I'd like to see it appear more often - but just not an especially new one.

Didn't Nokia already do something like this?

Come back Psion, all is forgiven

JMiles is bang on above. How can it be that in the many years since the demise of the Series 5 and Revo no one, but no one, has advanced on Psion's keyboard technology? Even more baffling is why Psion have licenced the tech to anyone (other than Amstrad for that p¡ss poor Emailer thing).

I'm with JMiles Posted Thursday 9th July 2009 01:09 GMT

I had a Psion Series 5 and it was without doubt the best compact keyboard I ever typed on. Nothing has come close to it in terms of phone/pdas. I also have a wireless mini Logitech keyboard (for my media center pc) that fails because its just that little bit too small.